Alloy



[Patented duly lill), T923...

UNET@ STATES Parana leraren...

ll/l. BECKET, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSTGNOR T0 ELECTRO IEETALL'URGXCAL COMPANY, 0F NIAGARA FLLS, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATTUN 0F mi? VTRGINM error.

Application tiled ltovember 22, 1920. `serial No. @53%.

YTo all whom t camorra:

Be it known that ll, FREDERICK M. Brenna,

i a citizen of the United States, residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in iAlloys, of

which the following is a specication..

This invention comprises a novel alloy, useful for various purposes, but more particularly in connection with the deoxidation and purification of steel and iron, the production of alloy steels, and the preparation and purification of a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, including-such alloys as bronzes, stellite, nichronie, etc. The invention comprises also the process involved in the treatment of molten metals or alloys with the said alloy. The alloy contains as its essential components magnesium, silicon and manganese, usually associated with a greater or less proportion of iron.

T have heretofore described an alloy of this general type in my prior Patent 1,322,158, patented November 18, 1919, the said alloy containing magnesium in excess of the equimolecular proportion to the silicon, and preferably in excess of 50% by weight or the alloy. ISuch alloys are highly etlicacious :tor the purposes set forth in the said patent, but are. very energetic in'tlieir reaction, which, in certain applications, leads to diiculties in theirlproper control. The alloys according to the present invention are decidedly less` energetic in action and are therefore more readily controlled, and yet they contain the desired amount of magnesium, ranging preferably from l0 to 50% by weight of the alloy.

My investigations have shown that magnesiiim in material proportions cannot be caused to alloy directly with manganese or iron or mixtures thereof, but that these elements can be caused to alloy with each other bythe introduction of a suliicient proportion of silicon; Manganese and iron 'for the pur; poses'of this investigation are regarded as substantial equivalents.l This situation 'is illustrated by the following typical alloys, in -each of which the proportion of manganese (or manganeseaand iron 'ointly) is substantially the maxim'whic it is possible to cause to enter into the constitution of a homogeneous alloy:

Maximum Per cent. Per cent. i Retie Si.

per cent.

Mg. Si. Mn. to Mg.

As clearly shown by the above table, over the range of 10%-5070 magnesium, the ratio of silicon to magnesium varies from 3.7 for 10%- niagnesiuin to 0.7 for 50%V magnesium,

the alloy in each case' containing the maxinium amount of manganese which it is possible to introduce for a given amount of magnesium. The actual ,silicon content, however, remains approximately constant over this entire range of magnesium content.

, llt follows that in the system magnesiummanganese-silicon, at least within the range indicated, there are only a limited number of possible or real alloys. This situation is well illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which the ligure is a triaxial diagram, showing the real alloys in the unsliaded area and the imaginary or non-existent alloys in the shaded area. As stated before iron or mixtures thereof with manganese are practical equivalents of manganese so far as this relation is concerned.

@n the basis oi the foregoing considerations T have been able to prepare highly emcacious and homogeneous alloys consisting essentially of magnesium, silicon and manganese, together with a greater or lesser proportion of iron. Typical compositions of suitable alloys in accordance with the` invention are as follows: v

Ma nesium-; 4.3M 10.207 19.299' Maganese-- 31.52%J 52.30% 29.73% 22.69%

T011 0 0 Carbon 0.03% 0.30% .07% 0.17%

Tt will be noted in respect to these several alloys, that the silicon is present in all. cases in excess of the equimolecular proportion to themagnesium; and that the manganese, or the manganese and iron jointly, are in lesser molecular proportion than the silicon. I

The iron is not regarded as an essential lill@ component of the alloy, but its resence is l more or less incidental to the emp oyment of iron jointl a high grade ferrosilicon as a convenient means of introducing the required amount of silicon into the alloy. In like manner the manganese may be supplied as ferromanganese, with the resulting introduction of further quantities of iron into the alloy.

1. An alloy containing as essential components magnesium, silicon and manganese, the silicon in excess of the equimolecular proportion to the magnesium, and the manganese in lesser molecular proportion than the silicon. I

2. 4An alloy consisting essentially of magnesium, silicon, manganese and iron, the silicon in excess of the e uimolecular proportion of magnesium, and' the manganese and in lesser molecular proportion than the si 'con.

3. Process of treating molten metalsor alloys for the purification thereof or the production of alloy compositions, which consists in introducing thereinto an alloy containing magnesium, silicon and manganese, the silicon in excess ofthe equimolecular proportion to the magnesium, and the manganese in lesser Imolecular proportion than the silicon.

4. Process of treating molten'l metals or alloys for the purification thereof or the production of alloy compositions which consists in introducing thereinto an alloy containing ma esium, silicon, manganese and iron, the silicon in excess of the equimolecular proportion to the magnesium, and the manganese and-iron Jomtly in lesser molec-- ular proportion than the silicon.

In testimony whereof, I aix my signature.

FREDERICK M. BECKET. I 

